Air New Zealand Eyes India Flights

Air New Zealand is planning to launch service to India, a market that is growing in appeal for international carriers, and it may be the flag carrier’s next network move.

Chief Executive Officer Nikhil Ravishankar has said that the viability assessment for offering direct services between New Zealand and India is currently underway.

A new free trade agreement and the growing people-to-people ties have been outlined as important factors behind this decision, which, while not yet confirmed through router announcements, is under serious consideration.

India Hot On The Radar Now

Speaking on the sidelines of the recent International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting, and as reported by The Times of India and other local media outlets, Ravishanka discussed the prospects of India joining the network.

As viability studies are conducted, the airline is attempting to determine how the two countries can be better connected moving forward. The timing of such an initiative is calculated, as, thanks to a free trade agreement, there has now been a sharpened focus on deepening ties, whether politically or commercially.

Additionally, New Zealand is seeing its Indian diaspora grow substantially; it is the fastest-growing community not just in this country but across most Western markets, and, as such, the call for new nonstop flights is increasing more than ever.

Air New Zealand is keen to be the answer, taking advantage of the struggling Air India, which is being forced to scale back its operations to reduce losses. As such, an opportunity presents itself for the Kiwi flag-carrier to offer direct flights rather than via partner hubs in Asia, thereby making journeys longer and more complex.

Air New Zealand’s Plan All Along?

While Air New Zealand remains more interested than ever in making nonstop flights to India a reality with its own aircraft, the framework for this move was previously established through a Memorandum of Understanding reached with Air India in March 2025.

As part of that, Air India and Air New Zealand agreed to expand their cooperation by introducing more codeshare partnerships on 16 routes, spanning destinations from India to Singapore, Australia, and beyond.

These codeshare relations meant that passengers from Delhi, Mumbai, or other Indian cities to New Zealand could book a single ticket via cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, and so forth, but it still required a stop.

The agreement, most critically, involved the prospect of the pair being able to explore the launch of their own, however, eventual nonstop services subject to not just the availability of aircraft, which for the New Zealand flag-carrier has been under pressure, but also regulatory approvals.

As a result, Air New Zealand is now flagging India as a market where it is studying the viability of its own aircraft flying there, which comes as no surprise. Ravishnkar’s newest comments this month show that work is being laid to create a case where feasibility makes sense.

Despite the intent, launching service in India isn’t guaranteed, nor will it come without its challenges. These ultra-long-haul flights require the right aircraft, suitable year-round demand and a price point that doesn’t put the flights out of reach but not at a level where the airline would go into the red between the cities.

Air New Zealand is expecting new 787s to bolster its long-haul network, and a long-planned shift away from the 777 is finally becoming a reality. As such, it’s also aware that it needs fuel-efficient widebodies in sufficient numbers to make this mission feasible without adversely affecting its current route makeup.

All that to say, the Indian market is competitive, but offering nonstop service for Kiwis and those coming from India could help them overtake other major legacy airlines like Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Qatar, which offer high-frequency, one-stop service to Auckland.